The state has a backlog of 205 rape kits waiting to be processed, something that is expected to take more than six months to complete, according to a report by the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research. Another 40 cases that have been processed are awaiting DNA analysis, which could take an estimated five months, […]
State has 205 rape kits waiting to be tested
Posted inNews
Wanted: Elder statesman; must like puzzles
The legislature’s bipartisan Reapportionment Committee formally acknowledged today what was made clear last week: its deadline of Sept. 15 will come and go without any new maps for legislative or congressional districts. As a result, they need to find a ninth member acceptable to Democrats and Republicans. Under the law, the bipartisan committee of eight […]
Posted inNews
DEEP picks head of greenhouse gas agency for key position
The head of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first carbon emissions trading and reduction program, has been named to a key position in the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Jonathan Schrag will become deputy commissioner in charge of DEEP’s energy division, a key component of the newly-constituted agency and one with […]
Posted inNews
Unsentenced inmate population bucks the declining trend
Although Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration is counting on a continuing decline in the state’s prison population–having closed two institutions in the past four months, laid off 21 front-line correction supervisors, and planning to close another facility soon–one group of inmates is bucking the trend. Numbers of accused but unsentenced inmates have risen each of […]
Posted inNews
Dissatisfaction with farm disaster benefits floats up with Irene
Shelly Oechsler managed a touch of humor offering a photo of fields on her family’s 400-acre Botticello Farms two days after tropical storm Irene struck. “What you are looking at is some of our peppers,” she said in an email. “If you were a scuba diver, that is.” Just about all 400 acres, most of […]
Posted inPolitics
Malloy hits trifecta in mayoral primaries
All three candidates endorsed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy appeared to win their Democratic mayoral primaries tonight: Pedro Segarra of Hartford, Tim O’Brien of New Britain and Dan Drew of Middletown. John DeStefano of New Haven managed to win without the gubernatorial stamp of approval.
Posted inPolitics
Weicker gives Mary-Jane Foster a hand in Bridgeport
Some interesting names are being drawn into the Democratic mayoral primary in Bridgeport on the side of Mary-Jane Foster, who is challenging Mayor Bill Finch. Lowell P. Weicker Jr., the former governor and U.S. senator, is the honorary chairman of a legal defense fund Foster announced Tuesday. David E. A. Carson, the former People’s bank […]
Posted inMoney
Malloy names Engine Alliance chief to lead new airport authority
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named the head of a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney and General Electric to lead the new authority charged with overseeing operation of all state-owned airports. Mary Ellen S. Jones of Glastonbury, who will chair the eleven-member Connecticut Airport Authority, was one of four members appointed Tuesday by Malloy. All […]
Posted inHealth
Slight increase in uninsured in 2010
The number of people in the U.S. without health insurance increased slightly in 2010, while the share of Americans with private insurance continued to fall and more relied on government coverage, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday. In 2010, 256.2 million people has health insurance and 49.9 million did not; both […]
Posted inNews
With S.T.O.R.M. on the case, will CL&P, UI cry uncle?
Somewhere deep in the Malloy Administration there must be a secret fan of that 1960s spy classic, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” The name of the review panel to examine the response to Irene is one of those corny/cool retro acronyms. Connecticut, I give you “S.T.O.R.M. Irene, the State Team Organized for the Review of Management […]
Posted inEducation
UConn ranks 19th among top 20 national public research schools
U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Connecticut as one of the top 20 national public research universities, placing it at 19th for 2012, up from 27th in 2011. The “Best Colleges 2012” rankings placed UConn at 58th among national universities, up from 69th in 2011. It was also named the best public […]
Posted inNews
Storm building over relief spending for Irene, other disasters
WASHINGTON–A political tempest is brewing over the Obama Administration’s request for $6.9 billion in disaster funding to help states hit by Hurricane Irene and a spate of other recent events. On Friday, the White House sent Congress a request for $500 million in emergency funding to replenish the nearly-depleted coffers of the federal Disaster Relief […]
Posted inNews
Two big city primaries Tuesday; Bridgeport vote delayed
The mayors of Connecticut’s three largest cities, each one a Democratic bastion that contributed to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s paper-thin victory last year, face make-or-break September primaries. But only two are on Tuesday. On Tuesday, John DeStefano Jr. of New Haven faces three challengers trying to block him from a 10th two-year term, while Pedro […]
Posted inNews
On kickoff tour, Donovan displays his strengths
Over four days and in five cities, Chris Donovan eagerly showed off the advantages a former organizer and current speaker of the Connecticut House enjoys in the crowded race for an open congressional seat. Donovan was endorsed at every stop of a campaign kickoff tour last week by legislators and others, many with organizations and […]
Posted inNews
Cut to tax credit could open debate on property tax reform
Though many middle-class Connecticut households will lose $200 next spring when a popular credit on their state income tax return shrinks, there is a silver lining: Those same filers will get nearly one-third of that cut back from the federal government. And the head of an economic think-tank at the University of Connecticut says that […]